It’s understandable why many people think it makes sense to publish their pricing on their website … but, most of the time, it’s a mistake!
I’ve heard all the reasons why to do it; it eliminates the “looky loos” who can’t afford your services, it saves time, it lets people know the price up front so they don’t need to waste everyone’s time calling for pricing … all valid reasons, but from a marketing perspective, as a general rule of thumb, it’s still a mistake.
There is an exception to this rule that I’ll get into later, but let me explain why it’s a mistake first.
Let’s think it through from the potential patient’s standpoint.
They have a health issue that they are looking for help with. They search the internet or get referred to your website and are considering your services. They have the same two fears everyone has when considering a new service or treatment:
- Performance Fear: Will it help them?
- Price Fear: Can they afford it and is it worth the money?
They see the link to your pricing on your website and click on it.
Next thing they see is a list of your services:
- Initial Visit: $397.00 – (The $ amount doesn’t matter if it”s $197 or $999)
- Follow Up Visit: $297.00
- Etc.
Everything they read or hear after that is filtered through the price tag of, in this example, $397.00.
“It’s impossible to build value after they know the price”
It doesn’t matter how great your initial appointment is or what an amazing doctor you are, they have to decide if they want to spend $397 on their health concern.
If they decide it’s too much money for them at that moment, as many do, they move on and never call you or book an appointment… opportunity lost!
When I tell Naturopathic Doctors this they often say “But if I don’t have pricing on the website we’ll get a bunch of calls from people asking how much we charge for an appointment?” … my response; “Let me be clear, you will be getting a bunch of calls from potential patients asking about your services? That’s exactly the point and why you should take pricing off your website”!
You see when people call to ask about pricing, you or your front desk person get the opportunity to start a relationship and build value. When someone asks how much is an appointment? Your answer shouldn’t be a dollar amount, instead it should be a question about their symptoms to explore if you can help them. Once the potential patient is confident that you can help them, the price becomes irrelevant, and they book the appointment.
Bottom line: Don’t publish your pricing and give yourself and your team a chance to build value before sharing the price. You will see more calls and more new patient appointments booked into your schedule.
The exception:
I mentioned earlier, there is an exception to this rule. That exception is when it’s an evergreen online program or an online product purchase. People who are buying online want to, and obviously need to, have access to the price. So how do you build value in this case? You share all the benefits of the program or the product first to build value, then share the price.
Remember, it’s impossible to build value after I know your price.
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